A CHARITY which has helped in the arrest of more than 1,200 suspected criminals on Teesside has received its millionth call.

And to celebrate the successes of Crimestoppers, the Gazette today gives readers a chance to identify 10 alleged criminals caught in action on Teesside’s streets.

Since being set up 20 years ago, Crimestoppers has helped Cleveland Police arrest and charge 1,257 suspects.

The charity’s confidential hotline has to date received 13,733 calls on Teesside.

Across the UK, Crimestoppers has helped officers recover drugs worth £150m and seize £102m in goods.

The charity received its millionth “actionable call” - one resulting in useful information being passed to police - about a knife crime in Leicestershire.

Its most famous success was the capture of M25 rapist Antoni Imiela. He carried out a year-long series of sex attacks on women before being arrested in December 2002 after his neighbour tipped off police via Crimestoppers.

David Hunter, Crimestoppers North-east manager, said Crimestoppers is a unique charity which is independent of the police.

He said: “To achieve the millionth caller milestone is an amazing feat for such a small charity, and it is all thanks to the public who have taken the time to ring us and tell us of their knowledge of crime.

“In our 20-year history we have never had a single caller identified, and this gives the public a tremendous confidence in the service we offer.”

He added: “To achieve the million calls is fantastic, but imagine the impact we could have on our communities if we could reach a target of a million a year.

“It is achievable but we need the support of the public, and of the businesses in Cleveland to make this a reality.”

Senior police officers have praised Crimestoppers for helping to make Britain’s streets safer.

He told the Gazette: “‘We are able to detect offences essentially three ways - by arresting suspected offenders at the scene of the crime, by using scientific techniques or by people providing information.

“This is where Crimestoppers is in a league of its own. It is a simple but effective concept and is an excellent partnership between members of the public and law enforcement.”

Crimestoppers’ director of operations Dave Cording said the majority of calls over the years had been about drug crimes.

But he added: “It is telling that our millionth actionable call relates to a knife crime incident, which reflects the gun and knife crime issue that is sweeping large parts of our country at the moment.”